If you sometimes think that the only way to get a timely response from some people is to send them a text message, then you may be correct. But, more than likely, that person is under 30 years old.

According to data collected by Opinion Research Corporation (OPC)reported by Rick Broida at Bnet.com, adults are at least twice as likely to respond to a text message within minutes compared to a voicemail message. People under 30 years of age are four times more likely to respond within minutes to a text message compared to a voicemail message. People over 30 are about twice as likely to respond within minutes to a text message versus a voicemail.

Blogger Broida claims that this likely results from the fact that text messages are necessarily short and easily accessed. They simply display on your portable device, and they are limited to only 240 characters). Voicemail by comparison is more difficult to access and is not necessarily brief.

But, the OPC data clearly show a generational gap that cannot necessarily be explained by time or difficulty of access. Our focus group research and other anecdotal data suggest that parents have had to use text messaging to reach their kids because the latter just are not inclined to take a voice call.

The preference for text among younger age groups is also reflect in the response data to our Survey of User Needs. When asked to identify their five most important wireless features, 67% of those 18-24 and 63 % of those 25-44 identified text messaging. Only 42% of those age 45-64 and 21% of those 65 and over identified text messaging as an important feature.

Read more on OCR's text message response data at:

http://blogs.bnet.com/businesstips/?p=2075&tag=main;content

http://www.wirelessandmobilenews.com/2008/10/txt_gets_quickest_response_67_of_18-24_yr_olds_txt_10x_day.html